TUC March: 2. Modern trade unionism – a north-south divide?

In the second of her posts on Saturday's TUC march in London,
Ann Czernik talks to Brian Golding of the
GMB union about modern trade unionism in the north and why the government needs to realise that the pie and pint days are over. The regions' trade union staff are well trained professional negotiators who want to keep their members in sustainable, well paid jobs.

Hard negotiations have led to a settlement for Kit Kat workers at Nestlé with points accepted by both management and unions. Photograph: Chris North/PA Wire

Brian Golding is the GMB convener for Nestlé York and also represents the GMB on the company's European council for information and consultation which brings management and trade unionists from all over Europe together discuss issues affecting the company and its workers. He believes that 'As working class people, we're all in it together.' He's also secretary of York and District Trade Union Council and represents Nestlé GMB on the International Union of Food Workers. The GMB itself is the third largest trade union in the UK and represents workers in manufacturing and public services.

GMB flags will fly in London. But a lot of the union's work is done quietly and effectively at members' workplaces.

Golding has been a trade unionist for nearly 30 years and was brought up to believe that you do the right thing:

When the welfare state was born, everyone believedthat it was the right thing to do. People used to die because they couldn't afford to see a doctor. God forbid - the way its going we'll be going back to those days where people used to refuse to see a doctor because they had spend what they had feeding their kids.

So what I would like to go back to is what the Labour party – my Labour party - would have been after the Second World War and that is, looking after working class people. It was a party of the people that started it - the trade unions. Today, the party leadership seems to have forgotten who created it.

Cameron talks about the big society but we've already got a big society - the welfare state. It's something that we should be proud of in this country but the Tories are destroying it. They underestimate how important public sector workers are to this big society.

Brian Golding; following in his father's footsteps.

Golding's father, a construction worker, was blacklisted for trade union activity. He struggled to get work, often finding himself turned away from jobs tarred as a 'troublemaker' Like him, Golding doesn't sit back and let things happen

It's why I do the job I do. I want to make things better for people. The economic crisis is a great excuse to get rid of services - if I can put back a little bit to support public sector workers, I will.

When the TUC voted to consider the practicalities of a general strike, the general secretary of the RMT union, Bob Crow, seconded the motion saying:

Every single person is representing someone here today under attack from this rotten government.

David Cameron retaliated by accusing the trade unions of threatening the economy and Ed Miliband advised against strike action, saying it lacked public support.

Golding dismisses this, saying that the politicians on both sides do not understand modern trade unions.

If Labour went back to its roots, it would support the aims of the TUC because they are to improve the lives of working class people. The Tories want to link the trade unions with the Labour Party in a bad way and Ed Miliband - I don't think he understands trade unions – has fallen for it. He should be saying out loud that trade unions are a good thing, a positive thing.

Nestlé GMB win health and safety awards, showing how modern trade unions and employers work together to benefit members/workers. That's trade unions in modern society: we're working together. Occasionally we fall out over remuneration but you're always going to have disagreements over that. Ninety percent of the time, we're working with companies to help them become more profitable so that they can pay decent wages.

In Nestlé , trade union officials and management go on joint training courses together. Managers and trade unionists are better trained, we understand about budgets. They understand where trade unions are coming from.

There will always be tensions, he acknowledges, but the new industrial contract rests on each side realising that they rely on the other to build a sustainable future for the company.

A settlement has just been reached at Nestlé 's Kit Kat factory on pay, but not before strike action was on the table. After months of difficult negotiations, Nestlé offered a 3.25% salary increase and an additional 1% incentive linked to worker participation in the 'zero accidents' safety process. Initially, Nestlé refused the unions' demands for a wage increase taking account of inflation. Then 94% of the membership rejected previous pay offers and balloted on strike action. Golding says:

Because we have a high percentage of people in the factory in trade unions (around 97/8%) that give us strength, but it isn't coercion. Nestlé has a recognition agreement and new staff are encouraged by the company to join a trade union.

You don't get very far by getting confrontational in the industry I work for. It's all about having to work together, negotiate, put your arguments across in an effective way. Long gone are the days when you could say 'everybody out'. You've got to be more sophisticated than that; you've got to have the arguments. The bottom line is that if you have a good idea that can improve efficiencies ,the employer is likely to listen to you – at least that's true in my company.

Golding is aware that food manufacturers like Nestlé are at the sharp end of the recession and the failure of wheat crops will increase costs. He says:

It's very competitive. In the supermarkets, everywhere you go, you see offers, BOGOFs, price-cutting. Supermarkets put a lot of pressure on manufacturers. Golding says: Manufacturers have to give freebies to supermarkets. The supermarkets don't pay for these offers, the manufacturers do. So if you see an offer , it'll be the producer, the farmer, the manufacturer. It's costing them.

Or maybe it can be improved, by the sort of worker/management liaison Brian Golding practices.

Manufacturers who don't give in to the supermarkets demands find that products are de-listed and removed from the shelf. Golding says:

Obviously bigger manufacturers can push back because they've got key brands but even they are under pressure. This impacts on workers' wages in manufacturing even if you work for a big multi-national company. Money is scarce and that's having a big impact on food manufacturing, and not just in the UK.

The biggest change that Golding has seen since the start of the coalition government's austerity programme is how the trade union movement in the north has become more community-based. Therein lies more strength. He says:

We're involved with a disabled co-operative. We're supporting anti-cuts groups in York like the NHS campaign and ad hoc coalitions are emerging with similar aims. These other groups can see what trade unions are about: collectivisation and looking after each other. I see that as a big step where we can get engage with people at grassroots level around campaigns that matter to working class communities.